Steel Locks & Crystal Keys
by KissMeKillMe123
Summary: To tell a tale you must start at the beginning. This is the beginning of Draco Malfoy and Astoria Greengrass. Lies, deceit, hatred, lust, love, gluttony, and greed play many a factor in the lives of two privileged Slytherins. Warning: character death, sexually explicit content, adult language
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer! The characters and anything else you may recognize are not mine; I'm just the novice playing with them!**

Steel Locks & Crystal Keys

_Chapter One: Story & Dray_

First, a little bit of history.

I was five years old when I first laid eyes on the bastard. He wasn't particularly handsome, but he was one of those boys that you just knew was going to grow up and be beautiful. You just had to look at his family to know that. Even his demented aunt was beautiful - in her own crazy way.

Daphne and I were having tea with our mother, Willow, when he and his mother entered with Kitarra Zabini. This was when Kitarra was only on her third husband. Blaise, my sister's friend, was her son. He was handsome, even as a child, and I just knew he and my sister were meant for each other. Years later, I would be proven right, of course. Anyway, I'm veering off subject.

He and his mother, Narcissa, joined us for tea that day. He wasn't particularly talkative. In fact, during the entire tea time, I don't think he said more than ten words. Narcissa, Kittara, and my mother were chatting happily most of the time, only stopping for deep breaths or sips of tea and bites of crumpets.

I studied his features and body language mercilessly. I may have been five years old, but I was hailed for being extremely smart. Father's genetics, I thought, obviously glad I wasn't an airhead like Mrs. Parkinson's daughter or, worse, completely genetically fucked like Mrs. Bullstrode's daughter. I'd rather have the brains than the classic beauty that my sister had inherited. As for Draco Malfoy, he may not have the beauty now, but he would definitely have it later in his life. Likely before he started Hogwarts, unless he was sent to Durmstrang. I snorted derisively. Durmstrang was a waste of a castle. The headmaster was fool of a man and the students hardly understood anything other than the Dark Arts, which made them morph into mindless drones perfect for following a Dark master. At least when the Dark Lord returned to power, he would have followers.

This boy that I studied, however, looked as if he had the brains to go along with his impending transformation of looks. He was watching our mothers banter and Blaise flirt as only a child could with a cold sneer on his pointed face. It was amusing to watch his expression change as life took it's course. I had a very strong feeling I would be watching him for a while yet.

I was right.

After that day, we were thrown together in a variety of social situations. Birthdays, christenings, Yules, New Years, and various other outings our mothers arranged were obvious, but then there were the odd times he would arrive unannounced with his mother at our house. At first, he spent his time with my sister and her silly friends. After a while, though, he would wander the house. Nothing was off limits, at least in his eyes, and he stumbled on the library, studied my father's study, rifled through our various cupboards, and peeked into the many closets. No skeleton was safe from his prying.

He must've gotten bored with how little he found, because eventually he started seeking me out. He was ask questions about the house, the help, my parents, my sister, and me. I was happy to answer, just to see what his reactions would be. They varied day to day. Some days he was surly and would just grunt in appreciation of the information and others he would ask follow up questions, looking for details. It was entertaining, to say the least.

Time passed, as it always seems to do, and soon we were spending every minute we could together. Normally we would sit in the library, pouring over various texts and tomes, trading information like money. Sometimes life would find us venturing outdoors to look at plants we'd found texts on or practice new Quidditch maneuvers. It didn't matter what we did. Whatever we did, we did it together.

There wasn't a secret spared betwixt us. The floodgates of personal information were opened exponentially when he appeared at the house one summer's day at the age of seven with a black eye and broken arm. He stated that he had fallen off of the banister, but I knew better. I had met Lucius Malfoy and I recognized an abuser when I spotted one. But, I kept my mouth shut until he was ready to spill this secret. And spill he did.

After that incident, we ran to each other over every little thing. He was the first person I told when my dog died. I was his first Floo call when his father started beating his mother. And when his Hogwarts letter came.. well, that changed everything, didn't it?

_TBC_

**Reviews, criticism, and any corrections you think should be made are more than welcome!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer! The characters and any plot points you recognize are not mine; I'm just the novice playing with them.**

_Chapter Two: A Year's Change_

I remember he met me in the garden, the one with the snapdragons and morning lillies. The ornate stone bench was cool to touch as I seated myself, but the air was thick and humid in late June. I could see the dirigible plums floating to the west of the garden and an immature elf spraying doxycide and gnome repellant on the bushes of nymph roses. It was a beautiful morning in August and I was unusually optimistic. I should've known better.

"Story!" I heard my sister cry, rushing outside with a silly grin gracing her features. She skidded to a halt in front of me and I glanced over my shoulder to see if mother was watching. She would have a fit if she knew Daphne, her precious daughter, was running around like a mad woman. As it was, the only people following her were Draco and Blaise. "Story, I got my Hogwarts letter!" Ah, that explained why they were here. If Daphne had gotten her letter, that meant they had as well.

She thrust a piece of parchment at me impatiently when I didn't respond immediately. It was a thick piece, heavy with ink and implications I didn't understand at that young age.

"Dear Miss Greengrass," I read aloud, my voice covering the sound of Daphne's thick soled shoes bouncing on the pavement. "We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Terms begins on 1 September. We await your owl no later that 31 July." It was signed sloppily by a woman named Minerva McGonagall, as if the proclaimed deputy headmistress had gotten tired of writing. It made me wonder why she didn't use a copying spell on one letter and just change the addressee's name. "Do they all say the same thing?" I asked, glancing at the two males who still stood in the doorway. Daphne nodded, albeit a little too excitedly for such a question.

"We're also not allowed our own brooms," Blaise muttered, obviously a bit miffed at the idea. I understood that rule. There were various muggleborn students going to Hogwarts and I was sure most of them wouldn't know the first thing about broom riding. Add on to that the safety issues one would have with an inexperienced first year riding a broom and they had a strong reason to prohibit first years from riding brooms. But, of course, Blaise wouldn't see it that way until they actually arrived at the infamous school.

"Draco, did your parents decide to send you to Hogwarts or Durmstrang?" I asked quietly. I was hoping, possibly against hope if his father got his way, that he would go to Hogwarts, as that was where I most definitely would be going in two years' time.

"Mother put her foot down. I'll be attending Hogwarts for the foreseeable future," he replied, a cool facade sliding down over his features. So he wasn't happy about it. He wanted to go to Durmstrang. I wondered why.

"Let's go show mum our letters, boys," Daphne ordered, effectively leaving me to spend time in my favorite garden alone. I watched as one by one they trudged back inside. Draco hesitated at the door for a few seconds until Blaise called his name.

An hour or so later, after tending to my various herbs and flowering plants, I was wiping the dirt from my hands with a handkerchief and digging potting soul out from under my manicured nails. I sighed in exasperation as a I picked at a particularly stubborn clump of soil and glanced over my shoulder to see if my parents were lurking. They weren't. A whispered Scourgify later and my nails were clean as a whistle, as were my robes. I smirked to myself.

Channeling my underage magic was something I had learned at a very young age. I quickly grew tired of my mother complaining about proper etiquette and my inability to adhere myself to the basic dress style of young girls, as I was always doing something to make myself dirty. Research of wandless magic and accidental magic had led me to believe channeling my underage magic into something more would be as simple as practice and focus. Those were things I excelled in.

"You know, you're going to get caught one of these days." I spun on the spot and grinned at Draco impishly.

"If they were going to catch me, they would have done so already," I replied. My parents would, understandably, be appalled if they caught their nine year old daughter doing magic far beyond her years. It wasn't exactly frowned upon, but it most definitely wasn't safe and that was a good enough reason for them to punish me. "So what are you doing out here?"

"Your sister's friend Pansy arrived and Blaise went back home to help his father tend the vineyard," he answered with a hint of annoyance. I understood that all too well. Pansy Parkinson was the heiress of the Parkinson fortune and a spoiled brat with a high opinion of herself - one that nobody agreed with. Her arrival could only mean she was staying for dinner and I would be forced to listen to her put-downs of my appearance throughout the meal.

"You should've went with Blaise. I'm sure he would've enjoyed the company." The vineyards in southern Italy produced most of the wizarding world's wine import, so I'd heard father say. They were very large and impressive and Blaise's family owned more than half. If I'd had the option, I would've went.

"I wanted to speak with you," he returned, glancing back into the manor. My brow furrowed in confusion. It wasn't as if he couldn't speak to me in front of my sister. "Things are going to be different this year, with me going to school. Different until you join us at Hogwarts, I'd expect." I nodded in agreement, raising an eyebrow. Where was he going with this? "Father wants me to 'be the man he raised me as'. You know, put on a little show for the muggleborns and blood-traitors at the school. He also wants me to get to know Harry Potter, since he will be going to the school the same time as me."

"Please get to the point, Dray," I interrupted, growing impatient. He was stalling for some reason and it was making me anxious.

"He said you were a distraction," he continued, "and that I should distance myself from you in case you caused trouble for this so-called plan of his. He doesn't want me to spend time with you anymore so after today I probably won't be coming back over this summer. Or next summer." So Lucius Malfoy was a bastard and Draco wasn't going to fight him. Who would have guessed that? Me. Right.

"You're going to do as he says?" I asked quietly. He nodded. "That's fine, then." I turned to go, unhappiness and the heartbreak of losing a childhood friend settling into the pit of my stomach.

"Story," he whispered. I snapped back around, hoping he was going to recant or burst out laughing, saying it was a joke. He didn't. His last spoken words to me for two years were, "I'll write you." I didn't respond. Instead, I gathered all of my nine years' worth of dignity, flipped him the bird, and went back inside.

_TBC_

**Reviews, criticism, and any corrections you think should be made are more than welcome!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer! The characters and anything else you may recognize do not belong to me; I'm just the novice playing with them!**

_Chapter Three: Two Years of Letters_

Two years passed in a blur of holidays, tiffs with my mother, etiquette and magical theory classes, and letters.

Dear Story,

I am sorry I haven't written before now, but I've been busy. Between the classes, the constantly changing staircases, and all of the time I've spent attempting to make Potter be my friend, I haven't necessarily had the time. How are you? How is your year? I want to know everything. I am sorry about the way I left things when I told you what my father expected of me. You probably hate me now and I would expect nothing less, but I would love to hear from you. I miss you, Story.

Draco Malfoy

First Year

Dear Story,

Please write me back?

Draco Malfoy

First Year

Dear Story,

I just want to know how you are. Please.

Draco Malfoy

First Year

Dear Story,

Well, if you won't tell me how you are, I'll fill you in on what is going on here. Potter blatantly refused my hand of friendship for that of a Weasley. He was placed in Gryffindor by the Sorting Hat (by the way, ignore the rumors about trolls and spellwork, we're actually sorted by a ratty talking hat!). I was placed into Slytherin with your sister, Blaise, Pansy, Millicent Bulstrode, Theodore Nott, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle. I've become mates with Theodore and Crabbe and Goyle are good for bodyguards when I don't feel like being bothered. The classes here are mostly okay, except for Defense Against the Dark Arts, which is run by a twitchy man named Professor Quirrel. He's quite useless, really. Professor Snape would, in my opinion, be a much better teacher for that subject, but alas, he is the Potions Master. I've learned a lot from the Charms teacher, Professor Flitwick. If I can this summer somehow manage to escape my father's grasp long enough, I'll have to show you some of the charms he's taught us. I need to wrap this up otherwise I might be late for Transfiguration.

I miss you, Story.

Draco Malfoy

First Year

The letters went much like that. I tried to ignore them, but by the second year I was writing back.

Draco,

Please quit writing me. I'm not interested.

Astoria Greengrass

Story,

I won't quit writing you. I miss you. I just want to know how you are and what you are doing and if you miss me, too.

Draco Malfoy

Second Year

Draco,

I am fine, I am currently in the drawing room of the manor replying to your letter, and I did at one point. Does that answer your questions? By the way, were you aware your letters make it seem as if you are begging?

Astoria Greengrass

Story,

I wasn't aware, but thank you for pointing that out. I'll admit I was slightly begging. You are a stubborn one. But, yes, you answered my questions.

Dray

Draco,

Begging doesn't become you.

Astoria Greengrass

Story,

You sound like my father.

Dray

Dray,

Do not ever compare me to that worthless man again.

Astoria Greengrass

Story,

Sorry. I wasn't insinuating anything. Are you going to come to Hogwarts next year?

Dray

Dray,

My mother is adamant I attend Hogwarts, but father is hedging towards sending me to Beauxbatons with my cousin Cecily.

Story

Story,

Which would you like to attend?

Dray

Dray,

Hogwarts.

Story

For the most part, the letters continued in that manner - with a few minor spats thrown in when we disagreed on a subject. One letter, however, changed it all.

Story,

I think I may have feelings for you.

Dray

I didn't know how to respond to that letter. So I just didn't.

_TBC_

**Reviews, criticism, and any suggestions you may have for corrections are more than welcome!**


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